Behind the Wall
by Raskolnikov34
Summary: Who is this odd new addition to the Kira case and what is her relationship with L? LxOC RyuzakixOC
1. Chapter 1

Everyone was gone. In the quiet darkness L sat alone in front of his laptop. With the exception of the tapping of keys, there was complete silence. He paused and looked at the clock in the corner of his screen; two thirty a.m.. That was four and a half hours until Chief Yagami and the rest of the police squad returned to headquarters.

He began typing again, but quickly stopped, sighed and brought a new window up on the screen. After accessing the security footage, he activated several cameras and a new image came to the screen. It was video footage of a sleeping woman. He sighed again. He knew she wasn't sleeping; that her insomnia was just as bad as his, if not worse. No, she was just pretending to sleep; a technique she had been using since she was a child as a way to "trick her unconscious mind into letting her sleep".

_Four and a half hours.. I guess I could afford to get a few hours of sleep._

With that thought he shut his laptop and walked out of the room and into the elevator. Once he had reached the sixth floor, the elevator stopped and opened into a lobby like area. Ignoring the business appearance, he walked straight through and opened a door on the opposite side of the room. Behind it was a large living area equal to that of a small house. The furnishings were typical of that in an expensive hotel and everything smelled lightly of lemon verbena. Any available space was either crammed with books of every genre and variety or had a computer sitting on it.

He ignored all of this though, and walked through the living room area, carefully avoiding the piles of wires, and into a bedroom stemming off of it. There on the bed was a young woman with short messy brown hair, laying on her side with her eyes closed, tapping her fingers across the hard cover of a book that lay beside her.

"If you're going to tap on it like that, you might as well read it" L said softly with a small smile.

"But I'm tapping on it so I _don't_ read it. If I start now, then I'll never get to sleep."

"Just put it in a drawer so you wont think about it"

"ehhhh" she moaned, defeated, and lightly pushed the book off the side of the bed with a loud thud.

"Just come to bed. I haven't seen you in days." She rolled over and looked at him.

He silently obeyed, walking over and laying down next to her on the bed. She moved closer as he pulled her over to him and put her head on his chest, deeply inhaling his scent.

"I despise not being able to see you"

"So do I, but you know-"

"- I know I know" she nuzzled her face in his shirt as he gently ran a hand through her hair.

"How's your back?"  
"Fine"

"Liar. Roll over" she sat up and grabbed his shoulders, forcing him to lay on his stomach. Pushing up is shirt and pulling his pants down a little, she began massaging his back. Did he really think he could hide something like that from her? She knew from the moment she saw him walk towards her that he was in pain.

He squirmed a little under the pressure and every so often she would hear a faint moan, but after a few minutes he stopped and began talking.

"I want you to officially become apart of the team"

"You mean have everyone be aware of my presence?"

"Yes"

"And I take it this is because you need some ground work done?"

"Yes, I'm sorry."

"No, It's alright. Its not a problem." She stopped massaging his back and sighed, leaning forward and kissed his shoulder. "I worry about you…"

"Please don't. It makes me feel guilty" he rolled over and took her hand.

"Don't feel guilty. You know I cant help but worry." She leaned and softly kissed his lips. With only centimeters between them, they stared at each other and she rose her hand to his face, rubbing his cheek with her thumb. "you need to get some sleep, lets talk about this tomorrow, alright?"

"Alright"

she lay her head down on his chest and closed her eyes. For the first time in many days the two found themselves able to peacefully fall asleep, even if it was for only a few hours.


	2. Chapter 2

Seventeen Years Ago

All she could think about was a lettuce and tomato sandwich. It consumed her mind in the night, tantalizing each of her senses and ultimately distracting her from her novel, until finally, she was forced to rise from her bed and adventure to the kitchen, praying that there would be the ingredients there to fulfill her late night cravings. Placing her dusty copy of _Swann's Way _onto the waist high pile of books next to her bed, she slowly crept out of her room and through the corridors, hoping not to disturb any of the other children.

Once near the kitchen, she noticed that the light was already on and heard noises coming from inside. The door swung open and revealed a young boy around the age of seven with messy black hair and premature bags under his eyes biting into a piece of strawberry cake. He momentarily stiffened in discomfort until he realized who it was. Had it been anyone else, he would have ignored them and left the room with the desire to curl up in a ball alone in his bed, but this was Thea; his best and only friend.

"Hey you" she smiled and walked in towards the refrigerator.

"Are you having a bad night as well, Thea?" he looked over at the little girl with short dark hair and moon bangs who had walked in, wide eyed with a fork hanging out of his mouth.

"But of course" she replied, grabbing a tomato, a head of lettuce, and a jar of mayonnaise and placing them on the counter top.

He looked over and noticed a small cut on her index finger

"Paper cut?" he pointed

"Hm? Oh, this. Yeah. I guess I got a little too into my book earlier"

"what were you reading?"

"_Swann's Way_" she answered as she prepared the sandwich "Again"

"I thought so. How many times have you read it now?"

"Six"

"Don't you thinks that's slightly obsessive?"

"When it comes to Proust, there is nothing _not_ to obsess about. He's possibly the greatest western author of his century, although we've already had this discussion countless numbers of times"

"I know, and as I've said innumerable times, I understand that he is an outstanding author" He took a large bite of cake and continued speaking without bothering to swallow " but I just don't see how you can hold him in higher regards that that of Goethe"

She stopped what she doing and turned around to face him, leaning up against the kitchen counter and pointing the spoon she used for the mayonnaise at him.

"And _I've_ said innumerable times that though it is a near tie between the two, Proust wins with his superior passion and subject matter. Besides, I'm in love with him"  
"It's a shame he's been dead for nearly a hundred years or you could have married him"

"and he's gay, cant forget that."

they both chuckled

"Great" she said , looking down at the sandwich she just made "I went through all trouble of making this, and now I just want some madeleines. Thanks a lot, L"

He placed a finger to his lips and smiled. "I cant help that you're feeling nostalgic"

They both began to laugh, and as it slowed she sighed and looked at him sadly

"We're not normal are we?"

His eyes widened and he leaned forward eyeing her questioningly.

"why do you ask that?"

"Because. I mean, do you really think that there are any other seven year olds that stand around at three in the morning critiquing 19th century literature and making jokes about esoteric French literary allusions?"

"Most likely not, but these are the things that make us happy, so, if that is abnormal then I don't see any reason to be normal"

She took a bite of her sandwich.

"That's why I love you, L." she walked over to him, sandwich in hand, and hugged him casually "You make me feel sane" she paused, took another bite, and looked at him with a smirk, adding "at least sane enough" with a mouth full of food.

The next few moments were spent in comfortable silence as they finished their food. Thea then put the head of lettuce and mayonnaise back into the fried and looked back at him.

"Say L, are you tired?"  
"No"

"Neither am I. Do you want to come back to my room and play a game of chess?"

he nodded his head and followed her out of the kitchen, knowing that he wouldn't be falling asleep until at least five. It was alright though, because he would be spending the time with the one person in the world he could relate to; the one person he cared about; the one person he loved.


	3. Chapter 3

"No way" She whispered, gaping at one of the many laptops before her. Leaning forward, eyes wide, she adjusted her headphones and began typing madly to adjust the audio levels and zoom in on the footage. The audio poured from the speakers.

"_I might be Kira"_

"_It cant be! What are you saying Raito?!"_

"What is he trying to pull?" her eyebrows knitted together in frustration

"_Dad… If Ryuzaki is L, then he's unquestionably the best detective in the world. If L has decided that I'm Kira then I probably am."_

"_Yes, It's true. In my mind Raito-kun is almost definitely Kira, and thus I'll probably be questioning him soon. Raito-kun has extremely sharp insight and understands my way of thinking."_

"This is bullshit. He has to know L wont believe him…To come forth like that….L…what will you do…do you really have a choice?"

"_If I was in L's position I would conclude that I'm Kira too. This means…that while I have no consciousness of it, I might be Kira…"_

She sat in deep thought, listening to the conversation play out. Did he want all of this to happen? Was this his plan? If they lock him a way and the killings continued…no, they would stop, he knows this. So he's trying to prove his innocence by playing the victim.

"_I don't really like where this is going, but fine. Raito Yagami will be restrained and placed under confinement for an undetermined amount of time."_

After 50 days of incarceration everyone's skin is wearing thin. The only communication Thea and L had over the past two months other than a few times she came to visit in the middle in the night (which was not very often considering how often the members of the team would stay all night) was via the computer late at night. It was there that they she could share her thoughts on the situation and he could discuss his to someone on his level who actually understood his methods.

There was a small beep and a message popped up in the bottom right corner of her monitor.

[ I'm going to let him go.

She quickly typed a response.

[ Just like that? Surely you cant be 100 convinced

[You know I'm not, but the situation is reaching it's limits. I need to focus on another way to reach a conclusive decision…or another suspect

[Are you planning one last test, just to make sure he wasn't acting the entire time?

[Yes. We can discuss that later

[Alright, and if he passes do you plan on just letting him walk free? Honestly I don't consider the last 50 days 100 valid. On the now off chance that he is Kira, we've been playing into his plan. What do you plan on doing to protect yourself under those circumstances?

[I will have to personally keep twenty four hour surveillance of him

[And how do you plan on doing that….oh my god….no.

[I don't have choice

[You can not handcuff yourself to him

[Do you have any better ideas?

[No.

[I'm sorry

[For what? Making sure you don't die?

[Very funny

[Hn. Anyway, does this change our plans? Will you be bringing me in now?

[Most likely in the near future.

[…This is destroying our lives…Why is saving the world so hard?

[If it was easy, then anyone could do it.

[oh ma amour, je taime

[I love you too. I miss you

[Did every one go home?

[Yes

[I'm going to come down then

She shut her laptop, threw on a pair of shorts and ran to the elevator as fast as she could. This could be the last time she saw him alone for the next few months. She tapped her foot on the red and gold carpeted floor and crossed her arms with impatience. This was going to be one of the longest elevator rides she had ever taken in her life. Fourth floor; she leaned against the shiny metal walls and began chewing her nails. Third floor; "_I hate elevators so much" _she thought to herself. Second floor; "_I should have taken the stairs. I would have been there by now" _she scowled, running her hand nervously through her hair. First floor; "Finally!" she whispered as the door opened into the main office area where L sat silently in his chair looking at Raito's security footage. When he heard the elevator doors open, he spun his chair around and smiled at Thea sadly.

She walked over in silence, trying to fight back a few tears. She wasn't quite sure why she wanted to cry, or why she was so scared. Other people's emotions were the easiest things to read an understand, so why was she so confused right now? Maybe it was because she wasn't use to this feeling of fear. Her entire life was a amalgam of emotions, but fear was not one of them. Sadness, happiness, depression, elation, hatred, and over whelming love; all of these things she was comfortable with, but over the years she never had any thing to fear. She was taken in to a wonderful 'home' as a child, given a friend whom she could relate with, and given love. All the years she spent with L, no matter how old they were, no matter where they were, she was always filled with the feelings of love and safety. Sure, there were times where she got stressed and even depressed, but it was okay'; she was human. But now for the first time, L's life was in danger. Her very reason for living was in threat of being taken away, and it made her more scared than she could even imagine.

Just as he opened his mouth to speak, she hugged him tightly with her arms around his neck, pressing her face into the crook of his neck. Before she knew what he was doing, she began to quietly sob.

"Thea…"

Slowly, without breaking any contact, he rose from his seat and walked her over to the couch and sat/laid down in a way that she could comfortably lay on top of him with her head on his chest. It killed his to see her this way. It was not like her at all. Thea was a very laid back woman, who, though very cynical, took everything with stride and never complained. Sure, she got depressed now and then, but she was a genius, what could you expect? Even then, it wasn't a 'mope around and cry' depression, it was more of a 'lets sit around and discuss the flaws in the human condition until we fall asleep on each other. I'll probably feel better tomorrow' depression.

"L…" she whispered as she weakly grabbed a handful of his shirt.

"Shhhh" he ran a hand through her hair before he said "I'm going to be fine" trying to sound as convincing as possible. The truth was that even he could not say that with certainty.


	4. Chapter 4

Two Years Ago

"See you in a few days, L" she said giving him a kiss before she walked out of the hotel room dragging her luggage behind her. It wasn't very often that they had a case anywhere near London, and they had made it habit over the past few years to visit the kids at Wammy's whenever they were. Unfortunately, this time there were some complications with the current case and ,the way things worked out, as soon as they caught the culprit (there was a set up staged for the end of the week) they would almost immediately have to leave for France. The obvious course of action would have been to drop the visit and wait until the next time they were in the area, but, considering it had been two years since they were in England and L had yet to choose a successor, Thea opted to leave for a few days, quickly visit the kids to assess the now older Mello and Near, and return in time for the sting where her expert hacking skills would be needed.

The jet ride was short and she arrived at the orphanage feeling refreshed and excited. Normally she didn't fare out too well in areas with large groups of people, but Wammy's was an exception. In a life where at times it seemed she and L were the only good people on earth, these children were a star of hope, and in a world were it seemed the only person she could connect to was L, they made her feel like part of a family.

After a few minutes of walking she reached the room she was looking for. After quickly knocking three times she took the liberty of entering the bedroom. There, there was a boy in all black with long blond hair sitting on his bed reading a book. He looked over with wide eyes at the legendary young woman with a funky sixties avocado green sweater and Amalie face standing in his doorway/ "How's it going, Mello?"

"Thea! What are you doing here? Where's L?"

"He's busy, so its just me. Bummer, I know" she smirked.

she walked over to the bed and they hugged each other and smiled. Casually, as though she had been his room mate for her entire life, she sat cross-legged on his bed next to him and picked up the book he had been reading. She traced the letters on the red cover. "Ché, huh? So do we have a little socialist on our hands?"

"No, he just interests me. What? Just because I read about a socialist doesn't mean I am one!" he immediately retorted, getting over zealous in his trademark Mello way. She just chuckled softly. "I'm just kidding. Besides, I was reading this same stuff when I was your age. Hn, so young and full of ideas about how I could save the world…"

"That's a pretty arrogant thing for you to say considering you _are_ saving the world"

"sometimes I wonder…." She spaced off into thought for a few seconds before snapping back into reality and suddenly asking "So how's Matt?"

there was a flash in his eyes before he answered.

"Oh, he's good."

"Are you still helplessly in love with him?" she smiled at the mortified look on his face as he blushed madly. He glared at her.

"What the hell! What are you talking about? Of course I'm not! He's my best frie-"

"Do you forget who you're talking to? I'm not wrong and we both know it. Don't kid yourself. In any case, of all the people in the world, I'm the last that would judge you."

He just looked to the side and glared at the wall, still blushing with his arms crossed tightly across his chest.

"Its just – it's not – I don't- err"

"Don't worry about it, honey. I thought you might react like this, but I didn't mean to stress you out so much. I just want you to be happy, that's all. If it makes you that uncomfortable to talk about it then I wont. But before we stop, I just want to say – not that it matters – but I just want to say anyway, that I think you two would be _perfect_ together. That's all. Moving on-"

She stopped and looked at the shocked look he wore.

"Do you –"

"Yes I mean it"

he smiled.

They spent the next few hours discussing random things until finally she said that she had to go and talk to Near before it got too late. Mello just scowled at the mention of Near and Thea laughed.

"You really need to get over that"

"There's nothing to get over. I just hate him and that's that!"

'Sure." She put her hand on his shoulder

"Ill see you tomorrow alright?"

"Okay"

She left his room and smiled to herself. _Poor Mello…_ she thought. As she passed a window she noticed it was getting dark and decided it would be the perfect time to take a walk outside. Slipping out one of the back doors of the mansion, she walked around until she reached one of the back walls. It use to be one of her favorite places to go as a child. It was just a long brick wall with no windows, facing a large open field. No one ever came out here except for her, in fact, she doubted many knew about this part of the school. As she continued to walk she pulled her jacket tighter at the cold breeze. She knew that approximately twenty more feet ahead that was a small in cove where she would always sit. This time though, there was a familiar smell in the air. When she finally reached the in cove, she walked in, only to see Matt standing there, leaning up against the wall smoking a cigarette. Behind the goggles, his eyes widened in shock momentarily, as if he were about to explain himself, but quickly returned to normal as he sighed in defeat. He was going to get busted and he didn't really care, but to his surprise the words to come out of her mouth next were nothing he expected.

"I know this is incredibly inappropriate, but can I bum one of those off of you?" she looked at him with an almost pleading look in her eyes.

"uh, yeah" he fumbled a bit, pulling a pack out of his vest pocket and handing her one

"Oh my god thank you" she sighed in relief "um-"

"Oh, yeah" he said as he pulled a lighter out of his back pocket and lit her cigarette.

"Thanks"

She took a deep drag and leaned up against the wall, closing her eyes and then looking up at the sky before exhaling. "Oh my god" she nearly moaned as she turned her head to look over at him. "Do you know how long its been since I've had one of these? _Two years_." She took another drag " When L found out when we were kids, he freaked out and made me quit. Ever since then, I've had to sneak them and its been getting harder over the years. I mean, it's not as though I need them, it's just that I get so stressed sometimes and, well, I'm sure you understand"

He was still staring at her in mild shock, the cigarette barely hanging from between his lips.

"Anyway, how's it going Matt?" she smiled

"Alright I guess…um….so you're not-"

"What? Going to lecture you? Matt, I am not going to tell you how to live your life. I mean, look at me. I'm not exactly setting the best example to begin with." She added holding the cigarette up and smiling. "So, just out of curiosity, when did you start?"

"About a year ago"

"Stress?"

"Yeah"

"How's school going?"

"Okay, my grades aren't the best."

"That doesn't matter. How's the coding?"

"Great! Do you want to see my setup?"

"Of course! I cant wait to see how its improved since the last time saw you. Ill show you some tricks too."

"Really?"

"Mmhmm. What are friend for, anyway?" she went to toss the butt of the her cigarette on the ground and then stopped

"What would you like me to do with this?"

"Oh, just toss it on the ground. No one comes back here, and even if they do, there's no way they can blame it on me" dropped his and smashed it with his boot. She followed shortly after. They began to walk off in the direction of the school and she put her arm around his waist and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"I missed you guys so much"

"We miss you guys too"

To anyone else watching, this would all have seemed to be normal behavior. Her familiarity and casualness, the intimate friendship between the two; what very few knew, was that this was not how she usually acted around people. This sort of behavior was reserved for a small number of people who she trusted and felt comfortable around. To the rest of humanity, her existence was unknown and she liked it that way. She never minded being shut away in hotel rooms around the world; she thought better when she was alone anyway. It wasn't as if she never left. When they had time they managed to have some fun. She and L would take walks through the towns and go site seeing and people watching…just nowhere too crowded.

L and these three boys were the exception to the rules. They were the only people that she wanted to spend time with, and talk to, and hug and kiss and protect. They were her family.


	5. Chapter 5

_[Did you read over the information I sent you earlier today?_

_[Of course_

_[Are you alright with this_

_[Yes. You know I'm committed to this case and am willing to sacrifice everything, Are _you_ alright with it?_

_[Yes, I just hate to see you put in dangerous situations_

_[Ill be fine. Besides, if you didn't want that then you shouldn't have let me tag along six years ago 3_

_[I suppose you're right._

_[On the bright side (If there is such a thing) at least we'll get to see each other more often now_

_[Yes. Even though we'll have to act as though we barely know each other it will be nice to have you around. I really need that sometimes_

_[I know, so do I. How are things going with the handcuffing business?_

_[Horribly. I really do like Raito, but it's terrible constantly being in such a close proximity with someone. Sometimes it really is suffocating_

_[I take it he's asleep right now_

_[Yes_

_[Do you think he's still Kira_

_[No. I'm now 70 sure that Kira is now residing among the Yotsuba Organization_

_[Hm, only 70_

_[Yes. Why? Where would you put it?_

_[Oh I would definitely say 85 but lets not argue about it. Ill just do my job and prove it to you_

"You want to make yourself useful?" L said to Matsuda. Thea, yet to be noticed by the others in the room, smirked silently. She knew what was coming next. She always knew with L. "Then can you get me another cup of coffee? – And don't forget our guests as well." Motioning to the couch behind him were two people sat and one stood. The men in the room gasped "Who are they?"

"When did they get in here?"

"They're our new members" L replied.

The two rose from the couch and walked over to the group. The one was a tall, handsome American man. He was well dressed and very suave as he casually greeted them "I'm Aiber, a co-artist, nice to meet ya "

"Wedy, a thief"

Said the tall blond woman in sunglasses who stood next to him.

The third member was a bit different. Unlike Wedy, who stood next to Aiber, this woman stood a few feet away. She was also significantly shorter than the other two clad in a 60's sea foam green dress and had short dark brown hair. Her face, unlike Misa's, was free of cosmetics (with the exception of her cherry red lipstick) but was still naturally beautiful and flawless. She couldn't have been over 27; she was petite, but fit. Her nativity was unidentifiable; Where L was obviously British, and Aiber American, this woman could have been from any where in Europe; Romania, maybe Bosnia?

"I'm Thea, a hacker"

"A-a con-artist, a thief, and a hacker?" Chief Yagami stuttered while gawking along with the other men at the odd appearance of the woman named Thea.

"_You're _a hacker?" Matsuda said in disbelief.

She looked over at him and smirked.

"That's right" L said "Aiber acquires and learns what is necessary for every social discourse, and is guaranteed to form and intimate connection with his target. We'll be using him for our spy in the Yotsuba Corporation. Wedy can crack any safe, key or security system. As proof, she was able to infiltrate this place without anyone noticing her. And Thea is one of the top hackers in the world and also an expert in behavioral linguistics and will be assisting us in observation."

"W-we'll be working with criminals?" Chief Yagami asked.

"Aiber and Wedy are criminals but not the type that appears in public; Kira won't be able to judge them." L replied calmly.

"Try to think of them as a professionals of the underworld. And Thea is a 'government hacker' for lack of a better term, and has a completely clean record."

She felt a strange rush. It was so odd to be in the same room as L in public, to talk to him in front of others, just to hear him say her name in such a professional way.

Over the next few days Aiber and Wedy came and went on command, but Thea stayed for the most part. The men had, in general , gotten use to her presence, though were still a bit taken aback by very non business dress and odd personality. Today, for instance, she was clad in an old yellow plaid dress and bright red tights, and while her appearance may have been a bright light in a dull setting, her character was not so much the same. It wasn't that she was rude, just withdrawn to an extent. The majority of her day was spent at the main workstation next to L, with several laptops around her. She didn't talk much, except to L, and, on occasion, Matsuda. They knew as little about her as they did about L and the only things they could infer were the similarities between the two. Both were socially awkward and quiet. They worked relentlessly on the case and had a level of familiarity between them that implied that they had worked together before. Even though she had never officially engaged in conversation with any of them, what they had over heard from her discussions with L was more than enough to let them realize that she was on a completely different level than them intelligence wise. Every so often Matsuda would look over in awe at her, typing busily away at one of the computers. He swore he had never seen anyone type so fast in his entire life; it was unreal.

"Thea" Matsuda suddenly spoke up.

The tap tap tap of the typing stopped.

"Yes" she replied coolly without turning around to face him

"Well, uh, not that I mind your being here, but I was just wondering why you work down here with us instead of in your own office. I mean wouldn't it be more comfortable for you to be in your own room like surrounded with computer screens or something, like Watari?"

"Hn" she smiled and spun around in her chair. She quickly analyzed the look on his face and then replied. "Oh, I was" and smiled at his confusion.

"What do you mean? You just got here"

"Who ever said that?"

'Eh-" he stopped short when he realized what she was saying.

"Do you realize how many government and police records had to be hacked to get the information we have? Who do you think did all of that? I've been here the whole time, just behind the scenes. Until five days ago, I was in my own living quarters 'surrounded with computer screens' as you put it, and contacting L on a private line. There was no need to come into contact with any of you."

"Then why now?"

"Because now we've hit a crucial part in the investigation and in order to put my skills into full use, it would be more effective for me to be in direct contact with main head quarters and members of the team. This way, I am able to freely analyze and discuss the investigation with L and the rest of you. Also, there is a high probability that I will soon be needing to do work that would be inconvenient to hide from you. Do you understand, Matsuda?"

"Yeah, I think"

"Alright, good" she smiled and then spun back around and continued typing.

"Ryuzaki?" Light asked looking over at L with a slightly pained look on his face. Thea caught the look out of the corner of her eye and had to bite her bottom, lip to keep from laughing. She knew what was coming.

"Yes, Light-kun" L replied in monotone

"Ryuzaki, I –err – have to use the rest room"

"Alright" he sighed, and the two got up and left the room.

Once her urge to laugh had died down, she resumed her work, and, as she expected would happed once L left the room, was interrupted my Matsuda.

"Um, Thea?"

She quietly sighed and turned around to face him with a cocked eyebrow. Studying his sudden change in body language, she realized that the sudden eye contact had made him loose his nerve so she gave him a kind smile.

"Well, I was just wondering, have you-"

"Matsuda, leave her alone and let her work" Aizawa cut him off.

"No, it's alright Aizawa-san. I really don't mind. What was it you were saying Matsuda?"

"Oh, uh, I was just wondering if you and Ryuzaki have worked together before? I mean – err – Its just you seem so-"

"-Comfortable around each other?"

"Uh, yeah" he smiled and rubbed the back of his neck

"Yes, Ryuzaki and I have been working together for a very long time. It only makes sense that we would, right? I mean, you'd be surprised at how much hacking needs to be done in detective work. It would just be a waste of time for him to search out different hackers for each case. I'm just like Watari. I go everywhere Ryuzaki does. Don't think you can get much more information out of me though. I'm only telling you this because its nothing that someone couldn't figure out using basic analysis –"

Matsuda's face dropped and Aizawa smirked

"Oh" Thea said looking up in thought "I suppose that did come off sounding a bit rude. I'm sorry Matsuda-san. I didn't intend for it to. You see, I'm not exactly the best in social situations, but I'm sure you all have realized that by now."

"No its fine."

"But, I really do like you Matsuda-san. You're a good person."

"R-really?"

"Mmhmm" she turned back around to face her computers and went back to typing.

"Anyway, I suppose it wouldn't really matter what I told you about myself, seeing as I technically don't exist"

"Don't exist? What do you mean?"

"What I mean, is that there are no records in this world that prove my existence."

"Are you su-"  
"Yes, I'm sure. One hundred percent positive."

"One hundred percent positive of what?" L said as he walked back into the room followed by Light.

"That there are no records of my being – ha! Bingo!" she suddenly said putting a hand in the air.

"What is it?" L said, eyes widening as he hurried over to her side and leaned over her shoulder to view the screen.

"It took me a while – you wouldn't believe the defense barriers put up on these documents. I cant imagine who they had write these programs but I would LOVE to have a conversation with them – but I finally worked my way through the bank transactions and came to _this _man. Masahiko Kida, employee of the Yotsuba corporation, and initiator in the new Kira's search for L. Solid proof, right here on his laptop. Oh, and you wont believe how he was making those money transitions – this is one smart guy – he set up these –"

"Incredible!" Light cut her off looking shocked. "So _this _is what you were doing all morning? I had no idea! This is amazing! How were you able to access his private laptop without it having any connection to the Yotsuba net system?"

"Huh? Oh, there are ways." She said nonchalantly

"Wow, It's a great thing Ryuzaki brought you here!" he added putting his hand on her shoulder. Eyes wide, she froze. Quickly she turned her head to face him, giving him a look that said 'what the hell do you think you're doing???'

Confused for a second he just stood there and then he realized what was wrong. Quickly retracting the hand, he apologized.

"No, Its alright. Really, I'm sorry, I just really have an issue with strangers touching me. I've always been like that. Its not your fault, you didn't know."

Aizawa sat on the couch next to Matsuda looking slightly confused.  
"Wait, what just happened?" Matsuda held his hand up and whispered into his ear.

"I'm not quite sure. I think she freaked out because Light touched her"

"Jeeze, just when she was starting to act normal…."


	6. Chapter 6

Nineteen Years Ago

"Thea, there's someone I'd like you to meet" a man in his forties with a prematurely drooping nose said, looking down at the fidgety little girl next to him. She wore tiny yellow sundress, and her ear length dark brown hair, which, though thoroughly brushed and clean, looked an absolute mess. It was as if at one time it had been brought back into a ponytail and then hacked off in an unsuccessful attempt to restyle it. She was now standing, very uncomfortably, before a boy approximately the same age with hair equally as messy. He stared at her widely, finger in mouth, as she balanced her weight from one foot to the other. The way she wrapped one arm around her stomach and had the other up at her face tugging at an uneven strand of hair made him sad; he understood how she was feeling.

"Did you hear me Thea?" Roger put his hand on her shoulder and she quickly tensed, eyes wide. The hand retreated as quickly as it came when he remembered the child's mortification at human contact. "Yes, I heard you" She replied blandly in a near whisper.

"Good. Well, Thea, this is L. You two are going to be friends." He smiled and looked over at Watari who stood behind L. She opened her mouth to say something but closed it quickly, realizing it would accomplish nothing, and just looked at the floor.

"I think it would be best to leave them alone to get to know each other, don't you Roger?" Watari said, looking down at L.

"Yes, I absolutely agree" Roger replied, and with that the two men left the room.

There was an awkward silence between the two, and after a minute or so Thea decided she would rather not pull a chair over from the desk across the room and just sat on the floor. L quickly followed, pulling his knees up to his chest. He eyed her carefully. She definitely wasn't like the other children, that much he could tell. And because Roger and Watari were basically forcing them to intermingle, she must have been incredibly intelligent. It was most likely some kind of test.

"They're watching us." She suddenly said, looking at him dejectedly. Pointing up into the corner of the room where a tiny and nearly unnoticeable camera was, she added "They didn't even bother to keep it a secret… Its almost insulting" she sighed and looked at him with a small sad smile.

"I suppose you're right" he smiled back.

There was a pause

"So…you're an orphan too?..." she asked timidly

"Oh, um, yes."

Her small hand reached up ran through her hair, making it even more of a mess.

He found it odd, how calmly she spoke of the subject. Most children, especially her age, would been much more emotional when referring to their being orphaned. She really was strange. Strange enough not to be taken aback by him, in fact, she never even blinked an eye at his idiosyncrasies. Or, at least he thought, that is, until she began eyeing his sitting position. Her eyebrows knitted together in – confusion? No, was it worry?

"What's wrong with your back?" she suddenly asked with the most emotion he had heard her use in the past five minutes. She sounded genuinely concerned.

"Oh…I um…I fell."

"What do you mean?"

"When I was three, I tripped and fell out of a second story window."

'why am I telling her this? I never talk about this' he thought.

Putting a hand to her mouth she quietly gasped.

"What did you trip on?"

"…my shoelaces. I cant tie them correctly to begin with…I've never been very good with fine motor skills….." he mumbled and looked at the floor.

In a barely audible voice she whispered "ooooohhh, that explains it" while looking at his bare feet.

She liked this boy L. There was something about him that made her feel comfortable. She couldn't explain it, but he was different than anyone else she had ever met, and it wasn't for the obvious reasons. It was as if there was an unspoken connection between them, something she had never experienced. Her entire life (though there were only five years of it) all she had really felt was loneliness. She wasn't old enough to understand why, but never the less it was as if there was a wall put up between her and the rest of the world. She wanted this boy behind the wall with her.

There was another moment of silence before she abruptly stood and walked over to him. He looked up at her curiously as she leaned over and said " So… can you show me around this place? I'm assuming its an orphanage right? Roger only showed me my room and then brought me here, and I'd much rather have you show me around than him."

L opened his mouth to say something but she cut him off before he could.

"They never said we couldn't leave" she smiled. It was the first genuine smile she had given in a long time.

'she IS smart' L thought 'She knew exactly what I was thinking'

"Alright" he replied, eye widening as she offered her hand to help him up. He accepted, surprised at her sudden gesture of friendship, and then walked out of the room with her.

After the "tour" of the mansion, which primarily consisted of the two wandering aimlessly for a few minutes, a visit to the kitchen for some cake, and an hour in the colossal library, the two ended up back in the wing of the building that held all of the sleeping quarters. Much to their shock, their rooms where right next to each other.

"Um, would you like to play a game of chess or something?" he asked with his finger at his mouth. Judging by the look on her face, she didn't seem to want to go back into her own room.

"Chess? I've heard of it, but have never played. I'm not sure how…" she blushed, looking down in embarrassment.

"I can teach you. Don't worry"

"Really?" her head shot up and she smiled.

"Sure" he lead her into his room and pulled a board and pieces out from under his bed. Sitting on the floor, he began to set up the game and started explaining the rules once she, too, had sat down.

At first she took too long to move, but she quickly gained speed. For never playing before, he was incredibly impressed. Her strategy was inconceivable, and in the end, he barely won.

When he finally declared "check mate" and took her king, she just sat there starring at the board. Her eyebrows furrowed together in thought. Had he hurt her feelings? Maybe he should have let her win, it was her first time playing after all…

"Rematch"

she suddenly stated, looking up at him with a big grin.

Before they knew it they were on their sixth game and it was getting late. Both of their eyes were half shut and a yawn could be heard every few minutes. At this point they no longer were sitting, but laying on the floor, lazily moving their pieces.

"Check" she mumbled, nearly dropping her bishop in the board. She yawed loudly and openly and lay her head back on her arm. With every intent of only blinking, she closed her eyes but failed to open them again.

"Check mate" L yawned, looking over and realizing Thea had fallen asleep. "Hn" he finally succumbed to his senses and let sleep overtake him

'this must be what its like to have a friend…' he thought, just before falling asleep


	7. Chapter 7

Thea stared warily at the large screens in front of her that monitored Light and Misa's date, and yawned. She didn't sleep last night, literally; she was too worried about L. He had been so depressed lately and there was nothing she could do to help him.

Chief Yagami and Matsuda were discussing something irrelevant over to the side, but she wasn't paying any attention to it. She was too busy watching L and interpreting Light and Misa's actions and language. Then it happened.

"No way! What's going on? Did you see that?" Matsuda yelled as Light punched L in the face. Thea froze and watched only briefly as the fight ensued.

"I'm going to call and try and break it up" said Matsuda as he looked at Chief Yagami and Thea for permission.

"No." She demanded strictly

"eh-" he put the receiver down "are you okay Thea?"

her hands were shaking.

She didn't answered, but quickly left the room and took off for the elevator.

"What's up with her?" he shrugged looking back at the chief.

Within a minute Thea also appeared on the monitor before the men.

_Bam!_

The door to Misa's room slammed shut and everything froze. Everyone stopped, including Light and L who were still in their grappling position, and turned to see Thea standing at the door looking more furious than they though possible. She had suddenly become fiercely intimidating and the boys slowly let go of each other.

"Who are you?" Misa asked.

Completely ignoring Misa's yelling, she marched over to Light. "Thea" L said wide eyed, but she just ignored him as well.

"What the _hell_ do you think you're doing?" she growled.

"Whoa!" Matsuda exclaimed as he excitedly watched the drama unwrap before him. In the small amount of time they had known Thea, she had always been very calm and considerably quiet. This was the last thing they would have expected of her, and things were about to get even more drastic.

"I'm sorry, but he kept-" He tried to explain but it was too late

She punched him square in the face almost making him fall over the tipped over chair behind him.

"What the hell was that for?!" Light yelled placing a hand on his cheek where it was already beginning to swell and bruise along with his other injuries. For her size, he would have never guessed she could pack such a punch.

Instead of answering, she started to make her way over to him, fuming and prepared to hit him again, but was stopped when L put his hand lightly on her arm. At this point she could feel her heart beating violently and her eyes began to gaze slightly. She turned around to face him. "eh –" she struggled to get the words out. "He hurt you…" was the only explanation she could manage to give.

There was suddenly a complete change in the atmosphere of the room. She had calmed down to her normal state and was now speaking in a near whisper seeming more sad than anything.

"I'm fine, don't worry Thea"

"No you're not fine, look, you're bleeding"

She gracefully raised her hand up to his face and wiped off a drop of blood that was rolling down his cheek from a small cut under his eye. Looking down at her red stained finger momentarily, she wiped it off on her pants. There was a small moment of silence in the room which Thea eventually broke.

"Light, I apologize for hitting you. I shouldn't have acted so crassly Any way, you two need first aid attention. Come on." She made for the door. Just as she touched the handle, she stopped and looked over at Misa sadly.

"I'm sorry your date was ruined, Misa"

With that she left the room, followed by L and Light.

"Did you see that Chief?"

"_Yes,_ Matsuda" he sighed.

"Hmmm, I wonder…" Matsuda put his hand on his chin

"What?"

"Don't you think it was at all odd how she just charged in there like that?"

"Yes, but I can understand why."

"But did you see how L touched her arm?"

"Yes, so what. He was stopping her from attacking my son"

"Yeah, but normally she gets really weird if anyone touches her. Don't you think it was odd how calm she was?"

"I don't know what you're getting at Matsuda, but no, I don't think it's that odd. She's worked with him before, and she's most likely familiar enough with him that she'll let him make physical contact with her. The girl obviously has personal space issues, but keep in mind that when she met us we were complete strangers-"

"She wiped the blood off of his face!" he said slightly bouncing up in down in his seat in excitement.

"Matsuda, what the hell are you getting at!" Chief Yagami yelled in frustration

"What I'm getting at is, what if they're secretly lovers of something!" he smiled devilishly.

"That is the most absurd thing I've ever heard-"

They quickly stopped talking as the three walked in to the room. Light and L had band aids on them.

"What are you guys talking about?" Thea asked

"Nothing" they quickly said in unison.

She sighed and rolled her eyes "I can only imagine…"


	8. Chapter 8

Thirteen Years Ago

"Hey!" L said as he mournfully watched Thea pluck the strawberry from the top of his cake and pop it into her mouth.

"Oh, get over it" she smiled and laughed as he took an enormous bite of cake with a mock frown. Her laughter was interrupted by a knock on the door.

"Come in" L stated calmly as Watari walked into the room to see the too kids sitting on the bed.

"I thought I would find you here Thea"

"Hi Watari gasp is that mine?" she said eyeing the package he was holding.

"Yes it just came in the mail. Do you mind if I ask what it is?"

"Oh, you know, just more books like usual."

"Is that so?"

"Yes. Why, don't you believe me, Watari?"

"No, its not that, Its just that recently I noticed some changes in the appearance of one of your laptops and couldn't help but wonder where the parts came from…"

"Are you implying that all this time I've been buying computer equipment and ordering it small enough packages that they could plausibly be mistaken for literature when they arrived in the mail? Really Watari, I didn't know you thought so lowly of me" she smiled.

"Oh, no, its not like that at all, although, I am quite interested what book you've ordered this time. Do you mind if I take a look?"

"No not at all, but it really isn't a big deal. Just another for my collection."

"You know what's interesting" he smiled at her

"What?" she smiled back

L just sat there in silence, amused by the situation and the passive aggressive argument the was happening around him. It really was hilarious.

"Well, for a book, this package doesn't seem very heavy. In fact I would even go so far to say that it's suspiciously light. What book could this be?"

"Schopenhauer's The Truth Of Wisdom. Very short book, not even fifty pages. I already own it, but this is one is first edition. I couldn't help but buy it. It was such a good deal on Ebay too." She stated in a matter of fact tone.

"Oh, First edition? That would make it over a hundred years old. With an old hard cover I would think it would weigh more than this. How interesting."

"No hard cover. It was so short that is originally printed in a large pamphlet form."

"Why don't you open it?"

"Alright"

she took the package from his hands and opened it up, pulling a tiny computer chip from the hundreds of packing peanuts inside. Laying it in the open palm of her hand so he could see it clearly, she looked up at him and smiled.

"See. It's a book. I told you so." She said, biting her bottom lip so as not to laugh.

Watari sighed and looked at L.

"Do you know anything about this, L?"

"I have my theories, but other than that no. She never talks about how she gets her hands on the stuff and Id prefer not to know." He grinned and looked at her

"Alright Thea, enough fooling around. Where did you get the money for this?" Watari asked.

"Oh fine, I access the bank account that holds the money my parents left for me when they died. "

"That's not true. I checked the other day and that money hasn't been touched. Where are you really getting the money?"

"Ugg, Fine, just promise that you'll keep an open mind and not get mad."

"I will do no such thing Thea"

"I guess it cant be helped. I've been caught red handed. Alright, so in a nutshell, for the past two years I've been working under a fake name, doing hacking jobs for the government."

"Which government?"

"…The French government…."

He sighed

"And how were you getting the money from them?"

"I created an untraceable bank account using a fake social security number…."

"Oh Thea…" he shook his head and smiled "Twelve years old….."

"Thea, that's illegal." L looked at her in all seriousness, seeming almost angry.

"Its only illegal because people with my level of skills are most likely going to use them for crime. I am not, therefore I don't include myself into those rules. I'm not encouraging anyone else to do it. I'm not teaching anyone. I'm not hurting anyone. If anything I'm helping to catch criminals. I'm doing this to make the world a better place."

"You're doing this for self profit so you can keep expanding upon your pc system." L stated simply.

This time though, instead of a giving a quick and witty answer, she paused. When she finally did answer, it was in a soft and sincere voice. "I'm doing this because I have to, L. Because if I don't keep practicing and learning, how will I ever get good enough to help you when you leave?..."

Shocked by her answer, he just sighed and smiled.

What could he say?


	9. Chapter 9

"Alright, here you go L. Everything you need to know about all of the members of Yotsuba" Thea grinned and turned the monitor to face L. "Although, I haven't found anything that incriminates any of them of being Kira in the slightest way."

"Good job. If we work off of this information we can build a logical profile of the members"

"I think the most effective method would be to physically study them. Give me a second and I'll access the blue prints of the building. We can have Wedy install bugs and cameras where needed." She began typing madly

"excellent. I'll call every one in"

One hour later

"Aiber, your job will be to go under cover and get close to Masahiko Kida."

"No problem"

"Thank you"

"And you want me to make it possible to get around the security cameras and systems at this Yotsuba company he works at?"

"Yes Wedy, and Thea will be assisting you"

For the next five minutes, L continued to lay out the details of the plan until they were interrupted by Watari over the computer.

"Ryuzaki"

"What is it, Watari?"

" Matsuda-san is sending a distress signal from his belt buckle…"

"… From where?"

"It seems to be coming from the Yotsuba Tokyo office"

"What is Matsuda dong there?! If he's uncovered-" The chief began to yell.

Thea just closed her eyes and shook her head sadly.

"Then he'll probably be killed" Aiber said

"Forget everything I just said… We need to rethink our plan." L sighed "Stupid Matsuda…"

After all the plans were made and they had gotten in contact with both Matsuda and Misa, there was still one problem.

"Ryuzaki, do you really feel comfortable letting this situation play out with only Matsuda and Misa in the room with Yotsuba?" Light asked, sounding worried.

"No, I'm don't, but I don't see how we have any other choice at the moment. We're so short handed as it is that even you and I have to be involved."

"Well, there's always Thea-"

"No."

"What do you mean 'no'? She'd blend in perfectly as one of the models. It would be a perfect opportunity to get some analysis on these guys also!"  
"He's right Ryuzaki. I could even give her some acting tips." Aiber added

L sighed, thinking it over. It as obvious that he was opposed to the idea.

"Ill do it." Thea said, looking at L

His eyes widened. "Are you sure you can?"

"I'm a wonderful actress, It'll be easy. Plus, you heard them, with the right hair and makeup I'll blend right in."

She smiled, but L knew that it was only hiding her fear. The situation she was volunteering to go into was, to her, a personal hell.

"Are you sure?" he asked one last time, this time much gentler than before.

"Yes"

As Light watched, he couldn't help but feel that there was something he was missing. He realized that this would be an issue for Thea because of her avoidance to being touched by strangers, but it was odd for L to act so concerned.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This was by far the most embarrassing thing she had ever worn in her life. The color was fun, but really, a heart cut out at the cleavage?

"Hi! I'm Kikyo! I don't think we've met before!" a perky young girl came up to her.

"Oh, hi. I'm Audrey. I just transferred to this modeling agency." Thea lied "But I've known Misa-Misa for years."

"Oh really?" the girl looked at her with vacant eyes. There were approximately five minutes until Misa and the men from Yotsuba showed up, so she better quickly get to know these girls well enough that there was a comfortable flow between them. "How did you meet Misa?" another girl asked, walking over.

"A year ago, I traveled to Tokyo for a shoot and met Misa. I've just recently moved here and thanks to my connection with her, I now have a job at the agency."

_I really need to dumb down my language_

"She's like soooo totally fabulous" Thea added with a big fake smile.

"Oh my god I knoooow!" half of the girls said, perking up.

"You look so neat. Where are you from? Like Italy or something?"

_Italy? Are you kidding me? I couldn't look less Italian…I even told her my name was Audrey… _

"No, I'm from France" she lied again.

"Reeeally?? Oh my god that is soooo cool! Say something in French!"

Before she had time to humor them, Misa burst into the room followed by eight men.

"Alright!" she cheered and stood facing them "These are the girls from the agency! If Misa-Misa and Matsui couldn't convince you , then these girls sure will! Now lets have some fun!"

L and Light sat alone in the room watching the monitors. As the men on the screens continued to make drunken fools of themselves, Light couldn't help but notice that L looked a little unnerved.

"Are you alright Ryuzaki?"

"Oh. Yes I'm fine Light-kun" he relied softly, not moving his eyes from the monitors.

Something was bothering him

"Thea's doing a great job. I wouldn't have thought it, but she really is blending in"

"She wasn't exaggerating when she said she was a great actress light-kun" there was a flash in his eyes.

That's what was wrong with him. He was worried about her.

Suddenly L's phone rang. Picking it up, he examined the caller id and looked over at Light.

"It's Matsuda. Get ready."

When Thea saw Matsuda slink off to the bathroom, a wave of relief rolled over her. It was almost over. Originally she had been walking around pouring drinks and talking to the men, but eventually one pulled her down and forced her to sit next to him. Now she was stuck there with his arm around her waist. The drunker he got, the louder he got and closer he got to her face when he talked to her. And as the night progressed she noticed his casually sliding higher and higher up her waist until -

_ Oh my god he's grabbing the side of my boob. Calm down calm down. Control your body and stay composed and focused. You have a job to do. This is for L. _

She tolerated it and withheld panic. She had a mission to complete. If she could get some conclusive observations then it would all be worth it.

_Just a few more minutes and this will all be over. Just hold on for a few more minutes and you'll get to see L again and you can forget that any of this ever happened. _

It was then that Matsuda returned to the room.

"Man am I drunk! Feels great!" he laughed and stumbled around heading toward the balcony.

"Everyone look at me! It's the Taro Matsui show!" he yelled and began climbing onto the edge.

"What are you doing!?" one of the yell shouted, only to be drowned out by Misa cheering him on. The shouting continued as Matsuda began to do a handstand.

"You're drunk, be careful!"

"Stop it, you idiot!"

"Ahhh! He fell!"

"Oh shit!"

the men ran to the balcony to see 'Matsui' laying dead on the ground far below them.

"uumm, guys, this could be bad, so maybe you should leave…we'll handle things" Misa said. None of the men were listening though. They were all clattering around and muttering among themselves in panic. This would be the best time from observation. While the other models stood around in shock, not knowing what to do, Thea nonchalantly watched and listened to everything the Yotsuba men did.

After the men quickly left the room, Misa escorted the models to the elevator. In the panic and confusion Thea managed to slip off away from the group and head down a corridor that lead to another elevator. Once on the sixth floor she immediately went to her room and nearly collapsed from stress. Eyes watering, the first thing she did was take off the outfit she had on. She violently threw it across the room, knocking a lamp over but not breaking it. Switching on the three electric strips in the corner, the room was soon filled with a dulcet humming of electronics. She sighed and sat on the ground, leaning her back against the side of the bed. She felt so violated. Still shaking, she began to silently cry and let the singing of the machines calm her down. She learned many years ago that they were the only things she could trust besides L.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

By the time everything had been cleared up, L instructed everyone to go home. For protection, Matsuda would be staying in one of the rooms provided at headquarters for the next few days. Seeing as it was one in the morning, Matsuda had no problem immediately going to bed. Either way, his new living quarters were ten times as nice as his apartment.

Once they were alone, L silently led Light back into the main room of headquarters and jumped on his laptop. Light stood their quietly, waiting to see what was on L's mind. After watching him access some files he'd never known were in the system, Light was shocked to see L suddenly bring up security footage he'd never seen before. As he jumped from camera to camera, Light was shown a world filled with computers wires and books. There was only one person these rooms could belong to and that was Thea. He should have know. Then L seemed to find the camera he was looking for. The angle on the screen now showed a young women in shorts and a bra sitting on the floor, surrounded with wires and pc systems. Her body seemed almost limp but for a shaky hand she currently had hiding her face. He didn't have much time to study the footage because nearly as soon as it came up L had shut the laptop and was halfway out the door.

The elevator ride was completely silent. No matter how much Light wanted to say something or ask if L or Thea were alright, he decided it would be best to say quiet. He couldn't remember the last time L looked so distraught. When the elevator door opened they walked across a lobby like area and entered her living quarters. It was incredible to say the least. He'd never seen so many wires and equipment in his life.

"Please be careful not to trip on anything Yagami-kun" he nearly whispered.

As they reached a closed door in the back, L briefly stopped and looked at Light.

"I hate to ask you this, but could you please wait outside for a few minutes?"  
"Oh. Okay. No problem"

"Thank you"

and with that he entered the room, quickly closing the door behind him leaving only a crack for the handcuff chain.

Thea looked up from her sitting position and gaped at L. She swore her heart almost stopped beating. A silent tear fell down her cheek as her kneeled down and embraced her.

"I'm so sorry" he whispered into her ear and she silently began to sob into his chest holding onto him for dear life.

Silently peaking through the crack in the door, Light was shocked at the scene before him. On second thought, though, it wasn't shocking at all. It made perfect sense. All of the sudden inconsistencies in L behavior were all suddenly justified. They were in love. The way he held her, whispering words of solace into her ear and running a gentle hand through her hair; the way the woman who vied against the touch of everyone around her clung to his thin frame, crying into him and looking as if he were the only thing in the world that could save her. It was undeniable.

He had to mentally laugh though. Deep down inside, behind the idiosyncrasies, uncaring behavior, and genius abnormalities, they were human. Plain and simple. And if there were any two people perfectly made for each other, he had to admit, it was them.

His thoughts were interrupted when left the bedroom, silently closing the door behind him. He looked…distant. Light wasn't quite sure what to say.

"I would appreciate it if you wouldn't speak about that to anyone please." He blandly said as they entered the elevator

"Oh. Of course. Umm…Is she alright?" Light sympathetically asked

"Yes, she's better now."

"Did she get any information?"

"She says that there is a 97 chance that Kira is either Takahashi or Higuchi." He responded sounding slightly bored.

"What!? Are you serious? How did she figure that out? Even we couldn't deduce anything that precise!" Light exclaimed, clearly impressed.

"She analyzed their reactions to Matsui's death. That was the most important part of the night, but amidst all of the noise and confusion there is no way our cameras could have gotten any clear audio."

"That's great! Now at least we know that it was worth it." Light said, trying to put a positive spin on the situation.

"I suppose…"

Apparently L didn't agree.


	10. Chapter 10

Eleven Years Ago

It was the first time he had ever seen a girl like that before.

And Thea of all people.

Later on in life he would think back on it and laugh to him self. With the way she was, he was surprised it hadn't happened earlier.

He opened her bedroom door, hoping to get a book back that she borrowed, but was shocked at the scene before him. Wires, chips, screwdrivers and other equipment were strewn all across the room. It was a holly mechanical catastrophe. All pieces of furniture, including the bed, had been pushed up against the wall to make room for this. there were three dehumidifiers set up in the corner, and everything was sitting on thin plastic sheets that she had distributed around the floor. The main wall was covered in hand drawn blue prints and with miniscule handwriting that could only be understood by two people. And there in the middle of it all, was Thea, wearing only her bra, underwear, and a pair of latex gloves, kneeling over some large pc system of sorts with a pair of tweezers. He froze, eyes wide, and stared as her brows furrowed together in thought and she moved chips around on the large circuit board. He was thirteen, so it was natural to be mentally flipping out, right? He hoped so, because he couldn't for the life of him form a complete thought. He had known for a long time that he liked Thea more than a friend, but this feeling. It was different. He knew it was rude and voyeuristic to stare, but he couldn't help himself.

"Thea?" he finally managed to say, but there was no response.

"Thea?" he said again, this time louder. Still no response. She was too deep in thought to notice anything outside of the project she was working on. What exactly i _was_ /i she doing?

It was then that Matt walked by the room. At first he passed without any notice, but then stopped, did a double take, and slowly walked back and stood next to L. Pushing his goggles up onto his head, he leaned forward, eyes wide, to get a better look at the situation, and then broke out in a huge grin.

L immediately blushed, realizing that he had her door open for the world, especially Matt, to see. Moving to close the door, he was stopped as Matt pushed his way through and entered the room without blinking an eye.

"Whoa! What are you working on? I've never seen anything like this" the eight year old asked calmly as he got closer to the machine .

It was then that L realized the boy wasn't gapping at Thea, but rather at the computer she was working on.

It wasn't until he poked her arm, that she jumped and was snapped out of her trance.

"Matt! What are you doing in here! Oh my god get out!!!" she yelled franticly, looking back and forth between the circuit board and his sneakers. Even though she was now acknowledging the people around her, she still seemed oblivious to her own partial nudity, and apparently, so did Matt.

"Can I at least watch? Ill sit on the bed and-"

"No!" she growled, picking him up and carrying him out of room hastily.

"But-"  
"No. I'm at a critical stage. It'll be done in approximately three hours. Ill get you then and i _then_ /i explain it. Now go!" she said quickly and closed the door on the two of them.

From behind the door they could vaguely hear her complaining to herself

_I swear to god if he fried this thing with his goddamn shoes…_

Ignoring the muffled comment, Matt shrugged in defeat and walked off, leaving L to stand there in shock. Seconds later, the door reopened and Thea's head popped out.

"Oh good, your still here, L. Could you go ask Watari if I could borrow one of his coolant systems in a few hours? An also, I need another electrical strip. Thanks"

She shut the door again.

_that was…surreal…_

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Three hours later, just as she said, she finished and opened her bedroom door. Now wearing a sweater and shorts, she looked around the hallway and saw Matt sitting on the floor next to her door, playing his gameboy. She new he would be waiting for her.

"It's done if you're still interested" she smirked at the boy.

His head shot up from the game and he immediately smiled.

"Come on in. You'll love this" she said, walking back into the room and motioning for him to follow.

Matt was the only person other than Watari and L that was allowed in Thea's room. L and Thea were more like legends at Wammy's House rather than residents. They didn't leave their rooms much, and didn't participate in normal classes like everyone else. Even their rooms were in a completely different wing of the building than the rest of the children's. At mealtime, they were never seen. Watari always brought food directly to L's room, and Thea, well, Thea was known to take food from the kitchen in the middle of the night and store it in her room. She wasn't picky like L. The food didn't need to be a certain temperature, and she didn't need tea. All she needed was something accessible to keep her body running, just like the electricity that ran her computers.

Matt was special though. She didn't mind spending time with him, in fact, she cared about him. To her, he was like a little brother, and it was her goal to teach him as much as she could before she left. He reminded her of herself as a child in many ways, and it wasn't just the innate talent for computers. Watari must have noticed these similarities as well, because he was the one who forced them to meet.

_Two years ago_

_Interrupted by a knock at her bedroom door, Thea looked up from her book and called the visitor in. Watari soon entered. _

_"Hello Watari. Is there something you need?"_

_"Actually, yes, if you don't mind"_

_"Alright, shoot"_

_"Well, I'm sure you're aware that we've recently adopted a new child, correct"_

_"mmhmm" _

_"It seems that he as the same affinity for computers as you do. I was hoping you could talk to him. You would be most accurate at gauging his intelligence considering the circumstances"_

_she sighed._

_"I know you don't want to, but he's only six. You wont have to spend much time with him."_

_"He's not one of those little hyper brats that runs around, being loud, breaking things, wiping his nose on his sleeve and such, is he?"_

_"No. he's very quiet, in fact, he hasn't spoken to anyone since we brought him here. He actually reminds me of you a bit when you were his age"_

_she raised and eyebrow and closed her book. That last comment had made her take a sudden interest in the boy._

_"Ha, poor kid. I guess I can spare a few minutes." She chuckled and followed Watari out of the room._

_Entering the office, she stared in interest at the little boy who sat in a chair that was much too big for him. His large green eyes looked up at her with confusion and slight fear. Auburn hair askew, he seemed to pull into himself a bit when this mystery person was added to the room. She noticed him wrap an arm uncomfortably around his stomach and smiled. She new that gesture all too well. _

_"Thea, this is Matt." He nodded in the direction of the boy_

_"Alright. I can take it from here Watari. Would you mind leaving us alone for a bit while I talk to him?"_

_"Of course." He replied and left the room. _

_Once the door closed, she walked over to the desk, grabbed the two laptops sitting there, and sat cross-legged on the red carpeted floor. Patting the space beside her, she looked over at the boy. _

_"Come on over, Matt"_

_soundlessly obeying, he walked over and sat next to her. _

_"Did you just come today?" _

_he nodded_

_"Alright then. Well, Matt, I'm Thea. I hear you like computers."_

_Another nod_

_"Okay, well, I'm going to show you a few things, but first-" she began typing madly and hacked into the central computer system. "let's shut down these damn cameras" _

_Matt's eyes widened and he looked at her in awe._

_"I see, so you noticed them too." She said _

_he nodded._

_"Hn, I hate being watched like that. It makes me feel like a caged animal…" she mumbled to herself._

_"…me too…" he finally spoke._

_Shocked, she looked over at him and noticed his eyes begin to glaze. She didn't know what to do. _

_"I don't want to be here. I don't even know what this place is" he quietly began to cry._

_"I just want to be let alone. I didn't do anything wrong…"_

_Those last two sentences made her stomach drop. She understood. And now, for the second time in her life, she felt a connection with someone. This little boy was standing at a crack in the wall she had surrounding her. _

_She pulled him into a hug as he cried into her chest, and ran a hand through his messy hair, making mollifying sounds, just like she did whenever L cried. _

_Suddenly she felt the need to protect this boy. She wanted to make sure that he was happy as long as she could. _

"Sorry about yelling at you earlier. Its just, with your shoes and clothes, you could have fried the whole thing"  
"Really? How?" he said as he stared in awe of the machine before him.

" Whenever the casing of a computer is opened and its internal workings are exposed, there is a huge risk of damaging it with the built of static electricity held within the human body. The internal workings of a computer, _especially_ the hard drive, are extremely susceptible to static. There could be extensive damage done if the hard drive is zapped. Okay, so humans can not physically perceive static electricity until its reached approximately 1500 volts. It only takes 10 volts to damage a microchip. Plus, the more circuitry built into the computer, the more susceptible. So I was playing it close anyway."

"Whoa, I never knew that. I'm sorry. I didn't mess it up, did I?"  
"Nope. Its running perfectly. Want to see the blueprints?"  
"Yeah!" he said in an uncharacteristically excited tone.

She threw and rolled up paper towards him. Catching and unrolling it, he examined it carefully. She never ceased to amaze him.

While she fidgeted with her new device, he casually stopped and looked over at her.

"I think you freaked L out"

"Huh? Why? I only talked to him for a second. Even then, I was in my own little world though, so I didn't really notice anything."

"Well, you were half naked"

"Oh yeah. To tell you the truth, I didn't even realize. Ha. You don't think that's why, do you?"

"Well he is a guy, so probably."

"You were fine"

"That's different"

"I guess you're right." She sighed

_how odd…_


End file.
